OK Computer (CD)

Radiohead

1 Used

Amoeba Review

Michael Keefe 06/16/2010

Radiohead were perhaps the most quickly evolving band since The Beatles. Their debut, Pablo Honey, seemed evidence of a one-hit wonder. After "Creep" came and went, few expected much from the band. Two years later, The Bends revealed considerably more sophisticated song structures, stronger lyrics, and excellent use of the recording studio. Even still, the group's third album, OK Computer, came as a shock. From the first off-kilter stabs of guitar in opening track "Airbag," it was clear that Radiohead were reinventing modern rock. The following epic cut, "Paranoid Android," is a microcosm of the entire album, fusing the odd time signatures and bravado of progressive rock with the heavy, implosive ennui of '90s alternative music. Coursing through it all is the ethereal voice of Thom Yorke, who sings like a fallen angel – alternately heartsick and pissed off. Though dominated by the multi-guitar wizardry of Jonny Greenwood, Ed O'Brien, and Yorke, the album is broken up by the downcast strums of "Exit Music (For a Film)," piano-heavy single "Karma Police," the computer-read poem of modern alienation, "Fitter Happier," and twinkling ballad "No Surprises." Adding greatly to the album's appeal is Nigel Godrich's production, which perfectly capture's the angst of humanity's struggle against alienation in contemporary society. OK Computer rightly turned Radiohead into global superstars, but the record's popularity is far overshadowed by the immensity of its success as a daring and fully realized artistic statement. Though just over a decade old, OK Computer is firmly established as one of the greatest albums ever made.